...self care is never a selfish act- it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give it the care it requires, we do so not only for ourselves but for the many others whose lives we touch.

Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Thanks Rebecca Patton, ANA President

I had the blessing of visiting family in Ohio last weekend. Attending church and Sunday School with mom. I had no idea that Rebecca Patton, President of the American Nurses Association, was one of Lakewood United Methodist Church's own, much less that she would be teaching mom's class that I attended with her. What an opportunity to hear this articulate spokeswomen for nurses and the nursing profession!

Stuff I learned:

in the typical, average 8 hour shift, the nurse will push, pull, lift and move about 1.8 TONS of weight

it follows that many nurses drop out of the profession due to back injury

visits to the nurse practitioner will be as common- or more- as visits to the doctor

generally, nurses aren't in it for the money -less stressful jobs for comparable pay can be found

nursing school is not cheap and loans and scholarships are not easy to find either

understaffed nursing departments are a result of profit seeking, decided by business, not health care people, and certainly not nurses.

the big insurance players are spending about 1.8 million PER DAY to defeat a not for profit public option plan not run by the private insurers

like most of us, many have had to stall retirements until their savings recover; the current glut of nurses will not last more than a few years.

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Having been in ordained ministry in the UMC for 34 years, I've experienced the truth that although, clergy are frequently present for others, no one can offer what they don't have.That's why if you're a clergy person, you need someone who will listen to you. Not the random next closest person available, but rather someone like a spiritual director, a therapist, a peer who can be fully present to you. I hope the links and posts you find here will give you ideas, humor, hope and encouragement. Scott Endress

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Bishop White's Letters to Martin

Ministry as commodity

When examined more deeply, it turns out that the current emphasis on clergy effectiveness is due to a change in the role of pastors that occurred in the 1920s concomitant with the development of the assembly line...

Faith and Celebrity

The reality-show obsessed world we live in does not usually recognize righteousness when they see it. They tend to want a star they can vote for and a leader they can admire for being as successful as any baseball player or character on Jersey Shore. For that reason I will not consider it a failure if none of our graduates ever sit across from Oprah or lead a church so large that it used to be a sports arena. After all, the first and last time Jesus was put to a vote, the people picked Barabbas.

Empire building, whether through dynastic families or in office towers, is often the material of tragedy. John Milton called fame "the last infirmity of a noble mind." He knew it was a trap, one that was especially dangerous for outstanding people.